


The Very Fabric of Dreams

by smaragdbird



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Marriage Proposal, Steve being scared, and ignoring perfectly good advice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2016-04-13
Packaged: 2018-06-02 02:12:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6546298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smaragdbird/pseuds/smaragdbird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve wants to propose to Sam but keeps stalling because he thinks that maybe Sam doesn't want to. Sure, Sam was with him to find Bucky and helped him regain his memories. Sure, Steve has met Sam's family and they seem to really like him and the other Avengers seem to really like Sam as well and he's on the team and everything. Sure, they live together.<br/>That all doesn't automatically mean Sam would be down with marrying him. He's a great guy and could do better than Steve who doesn't have that much money, insane working hours and is still spotty when it comes to popcultural references.<br/>Steve's closest friends (ie Bucky, Natasha and Thor) all think Steve's insane and should've probably popped the question back when Sam agreed to help Steve when he was a fugitive on the run from Hydra.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Very Fabric of Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [this ](http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/19458.html?thread=46396674#t46396674) prompt

Steve bought the rings on a whim. If by whim you mean a three months deliberation of the pros and cons of proposing to Sam only to see the perfect set of rings in the window of a jeweller and buying them right then and there. 

If Sam had been home by the time Steve had come home, he might have asked him but Sam had been at work and Steve had stashed the rings in the drawer he kept his art supplies in. And they stayed there even when Sam came back from work and for the day after that, and the week after that and the month after that.

He told Bucky two months after he had bought the rings. 

“I bought a ring for Sam”, he said in the middle of the two of them eating lunch. 

Bucky didn’t so much as blink.

“Do you think I should ask?”

“I’m surprised you haven’t yet”, Bucky said.

“I’m not sure he’d want to.”

“Why the hell wouldn’t he? You two live together. What difference could a piece of paper possibly make?”

Steve shrugged, feeling self-conscious. “He could find someone better. Someone who’s not – “

“- completely and utterly in love with him. I don’t think he’d want to give that up”, Bucky interrupted him.

“Someone with less publicity, better working hours, more money”, Steve finished. 

“I’m guessing Sam likes being the main provider for the two of you. And considering he looks at you like you look at him, you have nothing to worry about.”

“You think?”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Go home and propose to your boyfriend, Steve. You should do it before he buys a ring. That would be embarrassing for you.”

/

Steve did what he usually did with Bucky’s advice: ignore it. Sam was already home when Steve returned and looked like he needed a massage and a hot chocolate with marshmallows instead of a marriage proposal. So Steve provided the former and let the latter stew in his drawer. 

Two weeks later while Sam was out with Clint who he had met back in Afghanistan, Natasha climbed through the open living room window because spies didn’t seem to think highly of knocking.

“James said you’re being stupid”, she said, sprawling over the couch.

“Hello to you too”, Steve drawled.

“What the hell are you waiting for?”

“The right moment”, Steve said. “And keep your feet of the armrest.”

“You do realise you already asked him when you turned up at his doorstep after Shield had put us on their hit list?”

“That’s not the same.”

“To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved”, she said and patted his shoulder as if he didn’t understand anything.

/

Considering that the number of Natasha’s successful relationships was even lower than Steve’s, he ignored her advice too. Especially since it was basically the same Bucky had given him.

“Natasha asked me to talk with you”, Thor said one day after training.

“Really?” Steve asked because that sounded nothing like Natasha.

“She complained to Clint about your renitence in asking Sam to marry you in my vicinity”, Thor admitted. “It sounded as if you’re afraid of his answer.”

Steve shrugged non-committedly. He and Sam had never talked about getting married.

“Why would you?”

“Why would I what?”

“Why would you be afraid of his answer when it should be as obvious to you as it is to everyone else?”

“I feel like I’m dragging him into something he doesn’t want. The fighting, the military, he gave that up and he gave it up for a good reason and he came back just for me. Asking him to marry me feels like forcing him past the point of no return ‘cause he would never just sit by and let me risk my life if he can help it.” Steve didn’t know why he could tell Thor this when he hadn’t been able to say it to Bucky or Natasha. Perhaps because he had bought those rings more than a year ago and he had had more than enough time to think about it.

“That sounds like something you should talk with Sam about regardless of the rings”, Thor said and rested a hand on Steve’s shoulder.

“You’re right.” Of course Thor was right, just like Bucky and Natasha had been right.

“Good”, Thor grinned. “Then follow your friend’s advice for once.”

That was the hard part, Steve thought.

/

Sam had wanted scissors. The ones from the kitchen had seemingly vanished and he was packaging Christmas presents. So he had gone to Steve’s art supply drawer instead, knowing that there would be scissors in there.

Only he hadn’t found scissors. Well, no he had found scissors but he hadn’t just found scissors. Between Steve’s collection of paints, brushes and pencils sat a small, velvet box. The same kind of box Steve kept his cufflinks in. Only that Steve’s cufflinks were in his dresser and not in his art supply drawer. 

“Hey Sam, did you-“Steve stopped. His eyes went from Sam to the box and back to Sam.

“I needed scissors”, Sam explained and took his hand out of the drawer. “I didn’t mean to snoop.”

“Did you open it?”

“No.”

Steve hesitated for a moment before he came into the room and closed the door behind him.

“I wanted to do this a little differently”; he told Sam, joining him at the drawer.

“Do what?” Sam asked.

Steve took the box and opened it, then held it out for Sam to see. “So what do you say?”

“Yes”, Sam replied immediately and as if the answer was self-evident all while he couldn’t stop grinning so hard it hurt. “Did I just ruin your plans? Is this what Friday night was going to be about?”

“I...uh....no...” Steve said and started to blush all over. It was something Sam found so adorable that he could never not kiss Steve when he did it.

“You realise that Tony will want to throw a party?” Steve asked as he slipped the ring on Sam’s finger. It fit perfectly.

“Let him.”

“He’s going to invite everyone.”

“Hey, Captain America is getting married to me. He’d better be inviting the whole damn world.”

There was a small, indulgent smile on Steve’s face that made Sam kiss him again. And again.

They hadn’t had sex on the living room floor in a while anyway.

/

“Fucking finally”, was Bucky’s reaction when they told their friends. 

“Congratulations”, Thor said with a wide grin before he turned to Bucky. “I believe I have won our wager.”

“You bet on us getting married?” Sam asked.

“Not on you getting married”, Natasha replied. “We bet whether or not Steve would ever have the balls to actually ask you. He bought those rings almost two years ago.”

Sam turned to Steve just in time to see him make a helpless “why?” face at Natasha and Bucky.

“Two years?” Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

Steve opened his mouth, closed it, his eyes flitting through the room. The nearest escape would’ve been the window but without his shield jumping from the 22nd floor would be a bad idea. He was saved by Wanda who came in with the rest of the Avengers in tow.

“Congratulations”, she said and threw her arms around Sam.

“Jarvis told us”, Hope explained at Steve’s and Sam’s bewildered faces.

“Two years?” Scott asked, eyeing Steve critically. “What were you waiting for?”

Divine intervention, Steve thought.

“Who cares?” Tony asked. “Cap’s getting hitched. It’s going to be the party of the century.”

Told you so, Steve mouthed at Sam while accepting a hug from Clint.

Don’t care, Sam mouthed back and lifted the ring to his lips.

Love you, Steve added and Sam’s answering smile told him all he needed to know.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me [ here](http://smaragdbird.tumblr.com/) on tumblr


End file.
